How UPPAbaby Transformed Global CAD Collaboration and Simplified PDM with Bild

Overview

UppaBaby designs and manufactures premium baby products, with a focus on strollers, car seats, and other related accessories. Known for their high quality, stylish, and functional products-they were looking for a solution that seamlessly integrated with existing workflows and sped up design processes as their product lines continued to innovate and the team continued to grow.

The Challenge

UPPAbaby, a leader in premium baby products, faced mounting engineering workflow challenges that threatened to slow innovation.

“Our old system was a patchwork of NAS drives and GrabCAD Workbench-there was no reliable version control,” explained Stephen Kender, lead CAD engineer. “We’d receive dumby solids from factories in China, forcing us to reverse-engineer from STEP files. This was inefficient and error-prone, risking costly mistakes.”

After migrating to SolidWorks PDM Standard, they hoped for relief, but the subsequent shift to 3DEXPERIENCE proved more disruptive than helpful.

“3DX completely rewired how we had to think about data-it was like navigating a sea of files with no clear direction,” Stephen recalled. “Uploading was slow, searching was a nightmare, and the interface was unintuitive and frustrating.”

With engineering teams spread globally-including critical partners in China-UPPAbaby needed a cloud-native PDM that could deliver speed, organization, and seamless collaboration.

The Solution: Bild - Built for Speed and Simplicity

“Bild wasn’t just a tool-it was a breath of fresh air,” said Stephen. “Its lightning-fast performance, intuitive interface, and clean integration with SolidWorks hit every mark.”

Key Bild strengths that transformed UPPAbaby’s workflow:

• Rapid Data Migration: “It was as simple as packing and moving-no headaches, no disruptions.”
  
  
• Familiar Desktop Sync: “The intuitive desktop application made adoption effortless for engineers.”
  
  
• Reliable Version Control: “We gained absolute confidence that we were always working on the latest files.”
  
  
• Effortless Sharing: “Sharing with version and live links replaced messy email threads and expiring FTP transfers.”
  
  
• Seamless SolidWorks Integration: “Bild works fast and clean with SolidWorks. No extra steps, no wasted time.”
  
  

Early Impact: Velocity & Confidence Restored

UPPAbaby’s engineering team quickly felt the benefits:

• Accelerated Design Cycles: “We spend less time chasing files and more time designing.”
  
  
• Smoother Global Collaboration: “Our partners in China and beyond are fully in sync-no more lost versions.”
  
  
• High Adoption & Enthusiasm: “Our engineers actually prefer Bild over 3DX-it feels refreshing and empowering.”
  
  

“Knowing every file is the right one, fresh and intact, has completely changed how we work. It’s not just better-it’s transformative.”

Looking Ahead: Scaling with Bild

UPPAbaby plans to expand Bild’s role beyond core PDM:

• Engineering Change Order (ECO) Management: “Bild’s simplicity will streamline our change processes.”
  
  
• BOM Generation & Supply Portal Integration: “Linking CAD directly to supply chain data is the next frontier.”
  
  
• Custom API Integrations: “Our IT team is excited to build tailored workflows with Bild’s API.”
  
  

Conclusion: Engineering Freed

Bild gave UPPAbaby engineers a tool that finally matches their pace and precision needs.

“Bild isn’t just software-it’s a partner that lets us focus on what matters: creating innovative, safe products that families trust worldwide.”

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